Breathe
by JaredSadalecki
Summary: An AU oneshot of the night that Voldemort raided the Potter household


The young mother folded the laundry mindlessly. Most witches would prefer to just flick their wand and have it over and done with. But not Lily Potter, she enjoyed the work she had to go through to please her husband and year old son. She loved her family; they were the best thing that had ever happened to her. After all the years she had fought to keep James out of her life, she failed. She couldn't possibly imagine her life without him, or their son.

As she pulled on of James' drawers open, a face flickered into the small fire place. Where dying embers once stood, was the face of their elderly neighbor, Bathilda Bagshot. Her face looked worn, frightened. "Lily, he's here. He just passed by the graveyard."

That was all she had to say. The face disappeared in the fire, leaving nothing behind but soot and ash. Lily's heart beat doubled in pace. He was coming. It was over. James was downstairs with Harry. She had to get to them, quickly. She had to do everything in her power to prevent this from happening, not to her family.

The Dark Lord Voldemort had been after her little family since the day her first and only son, Harry was born. He had been born into a prophecy, into death, so to speak. Lily and James had defied Voldemort three times personally, making the target on their back that much bigger. The prophecy stated that one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches; that he will be born as the seventh month died. Harry had been born on July 31st, and 11:27 p.m. They knew what this would mean for them. They had been in constant hiatus from everything, work, friends, and lives, locked up in their tiny cottage in Godric's Hollow. Their only contact with the rest of the world was frequent drop-ins by James' two best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

She bounded quickly down the stairs, and was welcomed into the living room by the sound of childish laughter. James had set Harry on the couch and was creating tiny, colorful bubbles with his wand. Harry was laughing joyously as the bubbles popped on his nose. He smiled as Lily entered the room. "Mama!" he cooed. She fought back the tears as the messy haired boy grinned and waved his hand towards her.

Her dark red hair fell out from its hiding place behind her ears, "James, he's coming." The words caught in her throat. Why did her perfect little family have to be torn apart so soon?

James scooped Harry up off of the ground, tossing his wand on the couch where his son had been. He handed him to Lily, who held dearly to her son. "Lily, take Harry and go." Lily shook her head. There was no way she was going to simply walk away from him, not knowing whether or not she would ever see him again. He pulled her close to him, holding her tightly, "Lily, you need to go" He kissed her fiercely, passionately. "I love you."

Lily backed away slowly, towards the staircase. "I-I love you too." She turned and flat out ran up the stairs, before turning back and shouting, "Your wand James! Your wand!" Maybe that would buy him some time. He could defeat him, right? Harry looked up at her with fear in his eyes. "Dada?" he gurgled, pointing a fat finger down the stairs. Tears built up in her eyes. "You can play with Daddy later. Okay?" She kissed the tip of his finger, desperately trying to stay calm.

She pushed the door of Harry's nursery open, setting her son lightly in the crib. After barricading the door with several various pieces of furniture, Lily returned to her son, who looked anxious. "Dada?" he asked again. He wagged his chubby little hand towards the blockaded door.

A scream was heard from downstairs. Lily couldn't help the tears that fell from her eyes now. It was all over. James had been killed. She heard heavy footsteps from the stairwell; he was coming for her, or at least for Harry. She turned her back on the doorway. She kissed Harry's forehead softly before facing the door. She would protect her son, or die trying.

The door swung open, all the furnishings scattering about the small nursery. A tall, dark man entered the room, his face hidden by a black cloak. He laughed cruelly as he took a step towards the two of them, "Stand aside." He circled the small crib. Lily followed his every motion, placing herself between Voldemort and her small son. "Stand aside Silly girl." He repeated, louder this time. Lily still refused to move. He laughed shrilly, "Your husband is dead." The words uttered from his lips, and Lily felt the will leave from her body. They had discussed this, it would have been hard, but the two of them could have lived if for some reason, Voldemort had gotten to Harry. Lily knew that, as long as James was by her side, she could move mountains. But he was gone. There would be no more of him. With a simple flick of his wand, everything went black.

-x-

Lily groaned, her eyelids fluttering open. Had she lived? Or was this the afterworld? Where was James? So many thought ran through her mind those first few seconds of consciousness. As her sight returned to her, she found herself lying on the floor in the nursery. Harry was looking over the edge of his crib, a small lightning shaped scar on his forehead. She had lived.

A sob escaped her mouth. Why couldn't she have died along with James? Sirius could have taken care of Harry. He was his Godfather. No. She was still alive. James wasn't.

She rose to her feet, swaying slightly, how long had she been out? The moon was up. It was a new moon. A few more weeks and Remus would be out howling alongside with- She shook her head, tears cascading down her cheeks. She went to pick up her son, but found she couldn't even look at the raven-haired child. He was too much like his father. A muffled sob caught in her throat.

She couldn't breathe. It was literally paining her to inhale to the oxygen around her. The air mocked her. It said 'you're alive. James isn't.' She leaned up against the wall, gasping for breath. Who knew it would be this painful to loose someone? Certainly not Lily.

She bashed her fists against the wall, tears poured out of her eyes like a leaky faucet, she couldn't stop it. She had never felt this much grief in a single hour. It was too much for one person to handle. She fell to the ground, crumpled in a small ball, her small body overtaken by the large amount of sobs it was producing.

"Mama?" a small voice asked. Lily gathered the strength to rise from her position on the ground. She had to, their son, her son, needed her. She lifted the small boy out of his crib, bouncing gently up and down. "Mama, where Dada?" At the question, her vision became obscured, making it difficult for her to safely place little Harry on the ground.

"Harry, Daddy's not going- going to be a-around for a –a- while." Lily told her son, breathing deeply as to hold the tears hostage in her eyes. "He's gone for a bit."

The little boy frowned, beating his fists against the carpet, "But I want Daddy!" His eyes sparkled with unshed tears. His lower lip jutted out like his fathers. Lily hugged Harry close to her, "Me too Harry, me too." Her tears fell into his messy black hair, disappearing on contact. Footsteps were heard coming up the stairs for the second time this evening. Lily scooped Harry up and placed him in his crib, talking softly to the young boy.

She groped around in her pockets for her wand. _Why didn't she use this earlier?_ Pointing the wand at the door, she waited, ready for whatever intruder entered, seeking to kill her and her son. She wouldn't let that happen. After she was done here, she'd leave Harry with Sirius, and seek out the man that had destroyed her life.

The door was pushed open, rather slowly in fact. A large, sock-clad foot passed through the small crack in the threshold. _Socks? Why would someone where socks?_ Lily continued to hold her wand steady, ready for attack. As the rest of the body passed through the door, her wand clattered to the ground. "You're supposed to be dead." Was all she could say. He wasn't supposed to be there.

"You were supposed to escape." He answered back. Lily rushed to him, throwing her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and spun her around, lifting her off her feet briefly. "I love you." He told her softly, whispering in her ear. "I love you too James." He brought his lips to her, meeting in what was the most passionate kiss she had ever experienced. Full of love, and desire, but also of joy and admiration. So many words could be used to describe the kiss.

The broke apart when Harry squealed "Dada back! Dada back!" he clapped his hands together. James ruffled the young child's hair, while still keeping Lily elevated several inches off of the ground. "'Course I'm back, where did you expect me to go? I couldn't leave the two most beautiful people in the world." His hazel eyes glistened.

"James, where are your glasses?" Lily asked quietly.

He shrugged, "Downstairs. Those retched pieces of glass fog up with _any _sort of moisture. I had to take them off."

"You, were, crying?" she asked, unbelieving. James Potter didn't cry.

He nodded, gazing softly into her green eyes. "Yes Lily, I was crying. When I woke up, I thought I had lost you two," he said softly, his eyes still a bit puffy. "I didn't know what I was going to do without you, Or Harry." He set Lily lightly on the ground, still holding her close, "Lil, I'm so sorry, you tried to tell me not to trust Pettigrew, and I almost lost you. I'm sorry."

She kissed him softly, "Forget it James. We're both alive. Harry's fine. Let's just get out of here. Do you think Sirius is home?"

His eyes were full of confusion, "Why do we need to leave?"

She laughed softly, so as to not awaken the dozing child a few feet from them, "Because, one: this place is falling apart, I don't know what happen, but it's in ruins. And two: don't you think the Death Eaters are going to come after to find the family that destroyed the Dark Lord? Let's get out of here." And with that, she gently picked up her young son, and held tightly to her husband, who Apparated on the spot, taking them far away from the accursed cottage.


End file.
